i’ve stopped counting

I am not fully convinced that my name is spelled correctly.

Universal Studios’ ‘Islands of Adventure’ park is fun, but there are some things that confuse me that were overlooked in the whole process of creating the park. Making a compound word out of the park’s name yields ‘AdventureIslands’. This name is strangely familiar. I live near a water park in Tampa, FL, but I can’t put my finger on it… hmm… Maybe Universal should’ve went for it and called the park ‘Kingdoms of Magic’.

Secondly, although the quality of the rides at that park is much better than average in the ‘fun’ category, the ‘hold on or get your head severed from your neck’ category is new to me. On the log ride, there are signs everywhere during the 30 minute wait in line and during the ride. I think the chorus to the background music was ‘Cartoons are happy, hold on or die, cartoons are happy, hold on or die.’ Near the end of the ride, the log boat goes rather quicker than usual, then dives at a steep angle, just in time to miss the large stationary object. The riders’ only hope on this ride is to brace themselves for the fall and hang on as much as possible to the too- slippery- for- safety- they- should- go- the- other- way- oh- no- my- hand- slipped- yes- that- is- my- body- floating- through- the- river- and- yes- that- is- my- head- over- on- the- other- side- of- the- river handrails. The requirement for the rider to physically prevent his own death makes this ride one of the better rides, but I don’t see how this ride ever passed any sort of safety inspection.

The dueling dragons are good, too. Go on the ice ride first. It boxes your ears, blows steam really loud, grinds to a halt, and makes you believe your feet are about to be separated from your legs - all after the ride is over in a span of about half a second. We’re talking high-quality stuff here.

Last night I dreamed of Kabuki acrobat makeup instructors. I’d have to say the subject matter wasn’t terribly interesting.